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Marc Wallenberg

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Marc Wallenberg
RVO
Born(1924-06-28)28 June 1924
London, United Kingdom
Died19 November 1971(1971-11-19) (aged 47)
Lake Orlången, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
Alma materHarvard Business School
OccupationBanker
Spouse
Olga Wehtje
​
(m. 1955⁠–⁠1971)​
ChildrenMarcus (born 1956)
Axel (1958–2011)
Mariana (born 1965)
Caroline (born 1968)
Parent(s)Marcus Wallenberg
Dorothy Mackay
RelativesPeter Wallenberg (brother)
Jacob Wallenberg (uncle)
Marcus Wallenberg (grandfather)
AwardsOrder of Vasa

Marc "Boy-boy" Wallenberg[1] RVO (28 June 1924 – 19 November 1971) was a Swedish banker and business manager. A member of the prominent Wallenberg family, Marc Wallenberg was CEO of Stockholms Enskilda Bank until his death in 1971.

Early life

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Wallenberg was born in London, United Kingdom, the eldest son of Swedish banker Marcus Wallenberg (1899–1982) and Dorothy Mackay (1900–1984) from Scotland. He was the brother of Peter Wallenberg (1926–2015) and Ann-Mari Wallenberg (born 1929). Wallenberg passed studentexamen in 1943 and graduated from Harvard Business School in 1949 before bank studies in New York City, Geneva, Paris, London and Düsseldorf from 1949 to 1952,[2] all according to his father's plan.[3]

Career

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Wallenberg became deputy director of the family bank Stockholms Enskilda Bank in 1953 and became director and member of its board two years later. In 1956 he became vice CEO and in 1958 he became CEO.[2]

He was a board member of AB Svenska järnvägsverkstäderna, and he became vice chairman of the Swedish Bankers' Association (Svenska Bankföreningen) in 1959 and its chairman in 1961.[2] Wallenberg was appointed by the School of Economics and Business as a member of the Stockholm School of Economics Board of Directors which is Stockholm School of Economics highest executive agency, where he was treasurer from 1965 to 1971.[4] At the time of his death in 1971, Wallenberg was on the boards of 67 companies.[5]

Personal life

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In 1955 he married Olga Wehtje (born 1930), the daughter of director Walter Wehtje and Gurli Bergström. They had four children; Marcus (born 1956), Axel (1958–2011), Mariana (born 1965, married Risberg) and Caroline (born 1968, married Ankarcrona).[2][6]

Death

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On Thursday, 18 November 1971, the family bank held an ordinary board meeting. In the morning, Wallenberg flew from Värnamo, where he had participated in a corporate debate the day before. At the debate, he was asked why the Wallenberg Group had started construction of a new pulp mill in Hyltebruk, despite it not yet having been authorized. His answer to the question was rash, responding that he would rather be prosecuted for an environmental crime than be forced to pay damages to a mass buyer for breach of contract. The statement was big news in the press and he was criticized by his father at the board meeting. In the evening, he left a reception at the Italian Embassy and he did not come home for the night. The next day his car was found at Lake Orlången in Huddinge. Jacob Palmstierna and Peder Bonde, both Deputy CEO's of SEB, arrived at the site at 12 o'clock and were the first to see Wallenberg's dead body near his car and could confirm his identity. Wallenberg had taken his own life using a hunting rifle.[7][8]

It cannot be determined what influence stress due to the bank merger might have had on his decision to commit suicide. His workload was great and the expectations and pressure on him were no less. Marcus Wallenberg considered that his son's prolonged cold and medication with sulfa drugs might have been fatal.[9] Another reason is thought to be depression.[10] In his memoirs, Lars-Erik Thunholm testified that Marc Wallenberg's suicide was due to the fact that he, like his uncle Jacob Wallenberg, was against the merger with Skandinaviska Banken, contrary to his father's intentions to go ahead with the agreement. To confront his father with his idea was impossible for Marc and he chose suicide.[11] Although it is likely that Wallenberg died on 18 November, the official death day was set to 19 November 1971, the day when he was found dead. The day the family chose to indicate on his tombstone is, however, 18 November.[12] The 19 November, is dynasty founder André Oscar Wallenberg's birthday, an important day for the family, which has always been celebrated.[13][14][15]

Awards and decorations

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References

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  1. ^ "Familjens smeknamn" [Family nicknames]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 18 March 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 1350. SELIBR 53509.
  3. ^ Olofsson, Ken (5 December 2016). "När Marc Wallenberg fick lösas ut". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  4. ^ Rehnberg, Jonas (2009). The first 100 years: Stockholm School of Economics. Stockholm: Informationsförlaget. ISBN 9789177365792. SELIBR 11602338.
  5. ^ "MARC WALLENBERG, SWEDISH BANKER, 47". The New York Times. 20 November 1971. p. 34. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  6. ^ Sveriges dödbok 1901–2013 [Swedish death index 1901-2013] (in Swedish) (Version 6.0 ed.). Solna: Sveriges släktforskarförbund. 2014. ISBN 9789187676642. SELIBR 17007456.
  7. ^ Olsson, Ulf (2000). Att förvalta sitt pund: Marcus Wallenberg 1899-1982 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Ekerlid. pp. 380–384. ISBN 91-88595-75-7. SELIBR 7773480.
  8. ^ Jakobsson, Cecilia (19 January 2015). "Peter Wallenberg fick sin chans först efter faderns död". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  9. ^ Olsson, Ulf (2000). Att förvalta sitt pund: Marcus Wallenberg 1899-1982 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Ekerlid. p. 384. ISBN 91-88595-75-7. SELIBR 7773480.
  10. ^ Fagerfjäll, Ronald (2015). Den förlorade sonens återkomst: Peter Wallenberg 1926-2015 [The return of the long lost son: Peter Wallenberg 1926-2015] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Ekerlid. p. 143. ISBN 978-91-88193-19-3. SELIBR 18563951.
  11. ^ Håstad, Disa (20 June 2006). "Lars-Erik Thunholm". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  12. ^ Nowinski, Gregor (2008). Wallenbergs – del 2 [Wallenberg's – part 2] (TV production) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sveriges Television. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  13. ^ Olsson, Ulf (2000). Att förvalta sitt pund: Marcus Wallenberg 1899-1982 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Ekerlid. pp. 388–389. ISBN 91-88595-75-7. SELIBR 7773480.
  14. ^ Thunholm, Lars-Erik (1996). Den stora fusionen (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fischer. ISBN 91-7054-810-2. SELIBR 7596546.
  15. ^ Olsson, Ulf (1986). Bank, familj och företagande: Stockholms enskilda bank 1946-1971 (in Swedish). Stockholm: [Skandinaviska enskilda banken] i samarbete med Institutet för ekonomisk-historisk forskning vid Handelshögsk. (EHF). ISBN 91-85592-10-2. SELIBR 7750736.
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Business positions
Preceded by CEO of Stockholms Enskilda Bank (SEB)
1958–1971 		Succeeded by
Hans Munck af Rosenschöld
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